An ordinary American citizen outlines why he supports the Trans-Pacific Partnership:
A Pragmatic Progressive’s Response to Hair-on-Fire Opposition to the Trans-Pacific Partnership
A Pragmatic Progressive’s Response to Hair-on-Fire Opposition to the Trans-Pacific Partnership
Fri, 2015-06-05 13:35
#1
Sky Captain
A Pragmatic Progressive’s Response to Hair-on-Fire Opposition to the Trans-Pacific Partnership
Fri, 2015-06-05 13:53
#2
I don't have a problem considering others' arguments. But all those words, and he doesn't say anything about what is in the proposed agreement, or how it will supposedly bring about the picture of revival he is painting. Just how misguided people are for opposing it.
Fri, 2015-06-05 13:55
#3
ikosmos
That a US "liberal" site. You know. Humanitarian bombings and all the other blessings.
They're known for some recent syphilitic spraying attacks on the left and sometimes conspicious silence about their rivals on the right.
Right wing bloggers suggest that the articles are OK, not satire, but a good Rethugnican should ignore the comments.
I think I'll just ignore the articles.
Fri, 2015-06-05 13:58
#4
Talk about missing the point. TPP is not primarily a trade agreement.
TPP is a corporate/investor rights agreement, not a “trade” agreement. “Trade” is a good thing; TPP is not. Every time you use the word “trade” in association with the TPP, you are helping the other side.
. . . .
TPP is a corporate/investor rights agreement, and that is the problem.
TPP extends patents, copyrights and other monopolies so investors can collect “rents.”
TPP elevates corporations and corporate profits to and above the level of governments. TPP lets corporations sue governments for laws and regulations that cause them to be less profitable. Enabling tobacco companies to sue governments because anti-smoking campaigns limit profits has nothing to do with trade. Enabling corporations to sue states that try to regulate fracking has nothing to do with trade.
While giving corporations a special channel to sue governments, labor, environmental, consumer and other “stakeholder” organizations do not get a channel for enforcement. This helps enable corporations to break unions, force wages down and pollute without cost. This increases the power of corporations over governments – and us.
http://www.commondreams.org/views/2015/05/26/stop-calling-tpp-trade-agreement-it-isnt
Fri, 2015-06-05 16:43
#5
Sky Captain
Here's some more articles:
The TPP Education Project, Preface: Questions of "Fast Track", "Secret Deal" and NAFTA
The TPP Education Project, Jobs and Labor: Globalizing the Rights of Working People
Tripping Over #TPP: Debunking Elizabeth Warren's Lies on the Trans-Pacific Partnership
Oops! President Obama Vindicated on Trade by the Very Case Peddled by TPP Detractors
Trade-Phobia: Finally, A Xenophobic Tool to Scare White Liberals
Fri, 2015-06-05 16:56
#6
The links being posted on this thread are from a site dedicated to flacking for Obama and attacking economic populists.
Sat, 2015-06-06 16:08
#7
The links being posted on this thread are from a site dedicated to flacking for Obama and attacking economic populists.
Yes, and it would appear that Sky Captain is a pro-oligarchy propagandist.
Sun, 2015-06-07 20:35
#8
Why is the TPP Deal Such a Big Secret? (and vid)
http://therealnews.com/t2/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=31&I...
"With the text of the TPP hidden from the public, TRNN's Jessica Desvarieux speaks to those who have read the document and who says the level of secrecy is unprecedented."
Tue, 2015-06-09 09:59
#9
Sky Captain
The links being posted on this thread are from a site dedicated to flacking for Obama and attacking economic populists.Yes, and it would appear that Sky Captain is a pro-oligarchy propagandist.
Yeah, I'm one, because I posted a bunch of links from a progressive man about how the TPP that everybody has their hair on fire about isn't bad, and I also posted a link to a op-ed piec by an ordinary person (and guest colomunist) about how this would be good.
As usual, this proves what I've been saying and thinking about most of the 'progressive' left, and what's been said at the site where I got the links/articles from, and it also proves what they've (the people at the site who comment there) been saying all along. But what else is new, though? Can't blame a guy for trying.
Tue, 2015-06-09 13:50
#10
OK, I apologize, you're just an idiot with no judgement whatsoever.
Tue, 2015-06-09 14:03
#11
By the way, Mr. Pragmatic Progressive, what do you think of this article? It shows that the U.S. negotiating team has actually been taking its marching orders from the oligarchs' high priced lawyers. Excerpt:
While a full range of stakeholders would be affected by the outcome of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) agreement under secret negotiation by the United States and a dozen trading partners, corporate representatives have had a special seat at the negotiating table, as shown by hundreds of pages of confidential emails from the US Trade Representative’s office obtained by Intellectual Property Watch. The emails give a rare and fascinating perspective on how policy is developed in the trade office.
Tue, 2015-06-09 17:37
#12
The problem with this article is it really s just some guy's oopinion and he clearly isn't considering all the evidence. The fact that he can't find the link between anti-union efforts and reganomics and NAFTA etc tell me this article was not written by someone serious but rather someone with an (albeit poorly thhought out) agenda.
Tue, 2015-06-16 14:31
#13
Sky Captain
OK, I apologize, you're just an idiot with no judgement whatsoever.
And what are you, sir?
Wed, 2015-06-17 09:33
#14
Personal attack, not cool.OK, I apologize, you're just an idiot with no judgement whatsoever.
Wed, 2015-06-17 12:51
#15
Personal attack, not cool.OK, I apologize, you're just an idiot with no judgement whatsoever.
Sorry, I will be more measured in future.
Thu, 2015-06-18 10:53
#16
Ruben Bolling is a great cartoonist.
Thu, 2015-06-25 00:23
#17
I'm sure the NDP is probably all over this one already...
Harper: Poised To Sign Pacific Rim Trade Deal, Putting Safe Ridings in Play
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/politics/harper-poised-to-sign-pacif...
"The government has already negotiated and signed an ambitious agreement with the European Union. Now, with hurdles overcome, the US is ready, along with Japan, Canada, and 9 other countries, to proceed with the Trans-Pacific-Partnership (TPP),
The most ambitious regional trade agreement ever negotiated, encompassing 40 percent of global GDP."
Thu, 2015-06-25 05:56
#18
The Conservatives are committed to finishing imposing the neo-liberal economic world order even as the enemy? troops are at the gates. Even if they are not rewarded electorally, they will be rewarded financially.
Thu, 2015-06-25 11:57
#19
Yes, John Baird is already picking up his various sugar-plum appointments and directorships. Harper will undoubtedly get his own at the end of his run for services rendered. Since I remember the tumult over FTA and NAFTA, to note now the sad state of the struggle or lack of against this monster, even as an election campaign begins in which all parties will also likely ignore this 'investors rights' monster, is chilling. And so here we are in a thread dedicated to advocating for our own democratic grave-digging.
Fuck that.
Thu, 2015-06-25 13:16
#20
A spokesman for International Trade Minister Ed Fast, however, says the federal government is committed to defending Canada’s system of supply management.
Rick Roth says the negotiations are ongoing and that an agreement will only be signed if it is in Canada’s best interests.
American negotiators want to pry open the tightly controlled Canadian dairy system that offers protection for the domestic industry, but results in higher prices at the grocery store and less foreign offerings.
The sensitive spots in the trade pact for Canada include agriculture, and successive Canadian governments have left the dairy system alone for fear of incurring rural voters’ wrath.
The government is facing fierce lobbying from dairy and poultry farmers, who want Ottawa to resist making any concessions in the talks.
Thu, 2015-06-25 16:01
#21
How To Stop the TPP
http://davidswanson.org/node/4810
"The TPP is a disaster...NAFTA on steroids, economically and environmentally destructive at home and abroad. It's time we take a stand against wrecking the world, even with corrupt politicians who can find someone slightly more corrupt to run against.
It's time we signed this petition;
'If you don't oppose and vote against the Trans Pacific Partnership, I will oppose and vote against against you in every future election in which you are a candidate.'
Although this is from the US campaign, a similar petition should be directed to all of our own corrupt politicians.
Mon, 2015-06-29 12:57
#22
In a strongly worded letter dated June 26 and obtained by iPolitics, Mulcair calls on the prime minister to “commit to defending supply management in its entirety and reassure Canadians that it will be protected in all future negotiations.”
“Your evasive words earlier this week only heighten the uncertainty felt by Canadian producers and their families, whose livelihood depends on supply management,” Mulcair wrote, referring to comments made by the prime minister in Quebec City last week.
Mon, 2015-06-29 17:32
#23
Given the modicum of criticism that this 'NAFTA ON STEROIDS' TPP has had from the NDP, thus far, it becomes obvious that once again these late-stage objections will be merely the 'run with hare' component of their ultimate 'hunt with hounds' acquiesence to this corporate totalitarianism. THE TPP MUST BE STOPPED! a bit of NDP velvet over its mailed financial fist won't help.
TPP? Never Heard Of It Canadians Tell Pollster
http://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/trans-pacific-partnership-never-heard-of...
"It's the biggest free trade deal Canadians never heard of."
Wed, 2015-07-01 00:32
#24
Cenk Uygur gives a pretty good explanation of what the problem is with the TPP.
Wed, 2015-07-01 01:05
#25
Thanks Michael, it's truly a monster and every running candidate should be told, as in #20 above:
'If you don't oppose and vote against the TPP, I will oppose and vote against you in every future election in which you are a candidate.
Thu, 2015-07-02 03:04
#26
Leaked: What's In Obama's Trade Deal
http://www.politico.com/agenda/story/2015/06/tpp-deal-leaked-pharma-000126
"A recent draft of the Trans-Pacific-Partnership Free-Trade deal would give US pharmaceutical firms unimpeded protection against competition. TPP's protection could dump trillions of dollars of additional health-care costs on patients, businesses and governments across the Pacific Rim..."
Thu, 2015-07-02 05:00
#27
TiSA WikiLeaked: Winners & Losers of Multinational Trade Deal
http://rt.com/news/271138-wikileaks-tisa-leak-documents/
"Leaked documents of TiSA (Trade in Services Agreement) negotiations reveal that the treaty is looking to undermine 'governments involved in the treaty' by supporting multinational companies instead of local businesses, according to a WikiLeaks press release.
The revelations come just one week before TiSA talks resume on July 6. Negotiations have been taking place in secret since early 2013. The agreement is part of the strategic 'T-treaty trinity': the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), and the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP).
It complements the other two global trade agreements dealing with goods and investments, which are all currently being negotiated in secret. TiSA is believed to be the largest component of the three.
WikiLeaks analysis of the core text, compiled by University of Aukland law professor Jane Kelsey, stresses that the trade treaty aims to limit governments' ability to regulate national services and gives unprecedented freedom to foreign corporations.
The idea seems to be to privatize services on a global scale..."
Yikes!
Thu, 2015-07-02 19:17
#28
Given the modicum of criticism that this 'NAFTA ON STEROIDS' TPP has had from the NDP, thus far, it becomes obvious that once again these late-stage objections will be merely the 'run with hare' component of their ultimate 'hunt with hounds' acquiesence to this corporate totalitarianism. THE TPP MUST BE STOPPED! a bit of NDP velvet over its mailed financial fist won't help.
Incidentally, the recently reported problems with seniors having trouble making ends meet will likely worsen once pharmaceutical patent provisions of the so called 'trade' agreements kick in, making cheaper, generic brands scarcer than they are now.
Thu, 2015-07-02 19:19
#29
Politicians are merely branch managers for corporatism, which is an arrangement that extends right down to the municipal level. In essence, the modern police state consists of the agreed upon boundaries that are intended to contain and manage the inmates who reside within. When people are on vacation outside of the countries where they are normally incarcerated, such leaves of absence should be considered furloughs for good behaviour, after which, inmates are expected to promptly report to the prison shops and industries where they are usually kept busy. It's as if police are the facility guards, who report to wardens that we're allowed to vote for every now and then, except that for the inmates caught up in this dystopia, there is no difference from one warden to the next. It's all very normal.